East Notes: Stingy McKenna, Curry wins 60th

Rookie defenseman Kevin Marshall scored his first professional goal for the game-winner in Adirondack’s 2-1 win over Hershey on Friday… Krys Kolanos netted his 100th career AHL goal and first of the season on Saturday in a 2-1 overtime loss to Albany… On a brief conditioning stint, goaltender Brian Boucher made 30 saves for Adirondack on Sunday in a 4-2 win at Bridgeport… Jason Ward tallied his 100th AHL goal in the game against the Sound Tigers… The Phantoms host Hartford on Friday night before making their first visit of the season to Albany on Saturday.

Albany’s four-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday in a 5-3 loss at Worcester… The River Rats were trying to win five straight games for the first time since Jan. 31 to Feb. 13, 2009… Captain Pat Dwyer netted a pair of goals in the loss to the Sharks, his first multiple-goal game of the season… Jerome Samson has begun the season on a six-game scoring streak and leads the Rats with four goals and 10 points thus far… Albany’s penalty kill is a perfect 21-for-21 on the season; the River Rats have only taken 16.33 penalty minutes a game, one of the lowest averages in the league… The Rats host Rochester and Adirondack this weekend before a Sunday visit to Bridgeport.

Binghamton won its first two games to open the season but is winless in five straight since (0-3-2-0)… The Senators have surrendered the game’s first goal within the opening six minutes in each of their last three contests… Denis Hamel picked up an assist in Wednesday’s 4-2 loss at Rochester, and the captain now has a point in seven straight tilts (2-6-8) to begin the campaign… Ryan Keller has netted a goal in five of his first seven contests (5-3-8)… Martin St. Pierre paces the B-Sens and is tied for third in the league with 10 points thus far (4-6-10)… Binghamton visits division rivals Syracuse and Hershey this weekend.

After starting the season a franchise-best 4-0-0-0, Bridgeport has totaled just three goals in losing three straight contests… The Sound Tigers’ 4-0 loss at Lowell on Tuesday marked their first shutout against since a 3-0 defeat at Norfolk on Feb. 6, 2009… Greg Moore tallied a goal in both games last weekend for the Sound Tigers, and Dustin Kohn added a score on Sunday vs. Adirondack… Bridgeport is in the midst of playing six games in a nine-day span; the stretch concludes this weekend as the Sound Tigers visit Manchester on Friday before hosting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Albany on Sunday.

Hartford dropped a 2-1 decision at Springfield on Saturday despite outshooting the Falcons by a 33-14 margin… Defenseman Michael Sauer scored his first professional shorthanded goal for Hartford’s only tally of the night… The Wolf Pack opened the season with two losses, then won two straight, and have now been on the short end of the score in their last two outings… Top snipers Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and Corey Locke were each held without a point in the Pack’s losses at Portland and Springfield last weekend… Hartford visits Adirondack on Friday before hosting Lowell on Saturday and Worcester on Sunday.

Four of Alexandre Giroux’s five goals so far this season have come at Binghamton’s Broome County Arena, including a pair in Hershey’s 3-2 overtime win over the Senators on Saturday… Giroux has registered the game-winning tally in both of the Bears’ visits to Binghamton in the early going… Hershey set a franchise record with 27 shots in the second period of the game on Saturday… The Bears have surrendered a league-low average of 1.33 goals per game, allowing just eight opposing markers in six contests… Hershey will host Binghamton and Portland this weekend after a Friday night visit to Wilkes-Barre.

Two of Lowell’s three wins thus far have been courtesy of shutouts by new goaltender Mike McKenna, who has yet to surrender a goal at home this season… McKenna blanked Portland on 38 shots on Oct. 11 and turned aside 40 shots in a 4-0 win over Bridgeport on Tuesday… Saturday’s 7-5 victory at Worcester marked the fifth time in team history that the Devils scored at least seven times in a game; Lowell accomplished the feat three times last season, scoring seven on Feb. 14 at Albany and Jan. 9 at Portland, and eight on Dec. 27 vs. Providence.

Manchester opened the home portion of its schedule with two wins last weekend, outscoring Portland and Springfield by a combined margin of 10-1… Goaltender Jonathan Bernier earned his first shutout of the season in the home opener vs. Portland, making 29 saves in a 4-0 win… Scott Parse has racked up six points (2-4-6) in his last three games and leads the team with 11 points (2-9-11) through seven contests; Parse’s nine assists are tied for most in the AHL, and his 11 points rank second… Bud Holloway posted three goals and four points in the two home wins last weekend… Manchester continues a six-game homestand with tilts against Bridgeport and Providence this weekend.

Norfolk is 2-1-0-0 against the Atlantic Division this season and 0-3-0-0 against fellow East Division rivals… The Admirals will host Atlantic foe Portland for a pair of games at the Scope this weekend… Ryan Craig is currently riding a four-game scoring streak (4-1-5) since going scoreless in his first two outings of the campaign… Juraj Simek (0-3-3) and Paul Szczechura (1-1-2) both have points in back-to-back games… Brandon Bochenski has netted a goal in four of his last five contests (4-0-4)… The Admirals have killed off all 15 opponent power plays over their last five games, but their power play now ranks last in the league at 4.3 percent overall (1-for-23).

After going the entire 2008-09 season without suffering a shutout, Portland was blanked twice in the first six games of this season… The line of Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe, and Jeff Cowan combined for 11 points in Friday’s 6-3 win over Hartford, which represented the Pirates’ largest goal output of the young season… Ennis (3-1-4) netted his first three pro goals in the game, and reigning AHL rookie of the year Gerbe also had a four-point night (1-3-4)… Cowan’s two-goal effort represented his first multi-goal game since enjoying consecutive two-goal games for the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks in March 2007.

Providence outscored Lowell and Portland by a combined margin of 11-4 in taking a pair of home-ice victories last weekend… Top-scoring forwards Vladimir Sobotka (4-6-10), Brad Marchand (6-2-8), and Trent Whitfield (3-5-8) were all recalled by the parent Boston Bruins this week… Mikko Lehtonen also has eight points (3-5-8) thus far and now leads active team forwards… Defenseman Andy Wozniewski leads the league in scoring with 13 points (4-9-13) in six games… Goaltender Dany Sabourin is 4-0-0 at home thus far… The B’s host Worcester on Friday and visit Manchester on Saturday.

Springfield is out to a 3-0-0-0 start at home this season but is 0-4-0-0 on the road thus far… The Falcons’ penalty-killing unit is 15-for-15 at home and 24-for-34 (70.6 percent) away from the MassMutual Center… Charles Linglet leads the Falcons with six assists and nine points, and Chris Minard (3-4-7) is tied with Linglet for the team lead in goals… Newly signed veteran Chad Wiseman registered three points (1-2-3) in his first three games with Springfield last weekend… The Falcons will stay in Massachusetts this weekend, hosting Lowell on Friday before visiting Worcester on Saturday and Lowell for a rematch with the Devils on Sunday.

Tom Sestito has registered a goal and an assist in both Syracuse victories so far on the season… Both wins have come at home, while the Crunch show a 0-3-0-1 mark on the road… The Crunch have taken a lead after the first period twice this season and gone on to lose both games… Syracuse has had eight players record a multiple-point game already this season… Derek MacKenzie scored his seventh shorthanded goal in a Crunch uniform on Saturday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tied for fourth on Syracuse’s all-time list… Alexandre Picard’s goal on Friday vs. Norfolk moved him into 10th place in team history (58).

Ryan Bayda went scoreless in his first two games of the season but totaled a team-high three goals (3-0-3) in a pair of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton victories last season… Second-year pro Dustin Jeffrey racked up five assists in the wins over Binghamton and Syracuse… The Penguins are 2-2-0-0 at home on the season, and both victories have come at the expense of the Crunch… Goaltender John Curry earned his 60th career AHL win on Saturday, moving his impressive record to 60-29-4 in 95 games… In his first Wachovia Arena appearance of the season, Mark Letestu tallied the winning shootout goal on Saturday vs. Syracuse.

First-year forward Logan Couture has a goal in three straight games (3-4-7) and has notched the game-winning tally in two of Worcester’s three victories thus far… Couture paces the Sharks and is tied for second among AHL rookies with eight points overall (3-5-8)… Frazer McLaren, who totaled two assists in 75 games last season for Worcester, already shows two helpers in two games this year… T.J. Trevelyan (2-3-5) is riding a four-game scoring streak, and Dan DaSilva is on a three-game run (1-2-3)… The Sharks travel to Providence on Friday, host Springfield on Saturday, and visit Hartford on Sunday.